Award Winning Custom Fine Jewelry

Celebrating 25 Years of Jewelry Design in Chicago

25 Years, One Client at a Time

This year marks the 25th year of Christopher Duquet Fine Jewelry. Over the years we have cultivated intimate collaborative relationships with many clients. Sometimes for engagement rings, often for bespoke jewelry. The majority of our creations begin with our clients. We have an inquisitive approach to custom design that has made this last 25 years fly by. We want each piece we make to be unique, each as if it were the first time that design was ever imagined. It’s our clients that inspire us to work long hours, to elevate our designs, and create jewelry that will be distinctly beautiful and stand the test of time.

A Little History

I have been making jewelry for quite a while now. I first got interested in High School art class, my mother was taking a jewelry class at the university where my dad taught at the time. It came naturally to me. I continued with blacksmithing and continued with artistic pursuits throughout College and officially went to work in the “trade” in the 1970s. I moved to San Francisco and worked with a master jeweler there for several years before beginning my career there as an independent jewelry designer in 1992. We moved to Chicago in 1993 to open our little enterprise with almost nothing. My wife was a flight attendant and supported us by working long hours until we got things going a few years on. Things were tight, to say the least, but we worked hard and had faith in each other and many people helped us along the way.

Those years were filled with hard work and long hours and I wouldn’t trade them for the world. We started out from scratch and we made not only a company, but many wonderful friends, and a few nice pieces of fine jewelry along the way.

In the early days, there were only a few Jewelry studios in Evanston…

I Create Because I Like to Create

For me creating is about turning ideas into reality. I love the process of creation and I love just dreaming up new ideas to challenge the senses and stretch our abilities. I often spend time sketching ideas on paper. It’s a practice that has been in place since I first started and we do the same in our studio with our clients. It’s part of what we love about creating one of a kind designs, the collaboration between our client and our team is essential and is a cornerstone of our studio’s culture. We have a great team of Artists and Craftsmen and we usually have music playing in the background of the studio as we all work on our parts of the projects we building. We keep the mood light so there is no pretense to what we do. It’s Art and it’s Craft and it's about executing high precision miniature engineering, so you have to stay relaxed to do your best.

So are we Couture or Bespoke?

Structurally sound with attention to detail and the design mindset of an artist, each piece we create must stand the test of time. We are truly lucky and humbled, coming to work every day knowing that what we make is for someone that will cherish that piece for the rest of their lives. I insist that each of our creations be durable and one of a kind. It must be both structurally sound, functional and aesthetically timeless. In that sense, our legacy is truly Bespoke. Each order custom made to our clients’ specifications. Our sense of artistry and creative work brings us into the realm of Couture but our roots and craftsmanship free us from the pretense of the high fashion world. We strive to elevate our customers’ expectations as well as our own.

Structurally sound with attention to detail and the design mindset of an artist, each piece we create must stand the test of time. We are truly lucky and humbled, coming to work every day knowing that what we make is for someone that will cherish that piece for the rest of their lives.
– Christopher Duquet

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Copyright 2018. All rights reserved. Christopher Duquet Fine Jewelry Store and Design Studio in Evanston Illinois. We've been making one of a kind jewelry for our clients in Evanston, Chicago, North Shore and surrounding areas for over 25 years. We make award-winning handmade custom jewelry, specializing in engagement rings, wedding rings, restyle and original jewelry design.